More than two months after the start of classes at Victor Falls Elementary School, teachers, staff, and campus and district administrators had the chance to publicly dedicate a significantly face-lifted campus.
Principal Beth Dykman cut the ribbon in front of a crowd of parents Nov. 17, and opened the doors to a multi-purpose room that was immediately distinct in one obvious way—it was much taller.
“The ceiling was not nearly as tall in the old building as it is now,” Dykman said. “The ceiling was as big as (10 feet) before and as you can see now it is many, many times taller.”
The more grandiose entrance was just part of a drastic redesign by architectural firm BLRB that parents could see as they toured the hallways of the campus.
Victor Falls was closed to the public for the 2009-10 school year. While students and staff continued their studies at Donald Eismann Elementary in Cascadia, their old campus underwent a change that was “50-50” update to an existing structure and total redesign from scratch, as described by architects Hsinyu Kao and Gene LaVaque.
“All the classrooms stayed in place,” LaVaque said. “But every square inch of the building was refinished.”
The whole center core of the building was demolished, and in its place are the library, special education classrooms and subject focus rooms such as the one for math.
A nature theme dominates the redesign. Pillars with aesthetic “branches” are contained within the multi-purpose room and at the front entrance. Dykman likened the old campus entrance to “a cave” in comparison to the tall and heavily windowed new entrance, and pointed out a photo of the old campus that showed a low-slung, concrete front bearing around the doors. The floors of the halls for each grade-level wing are now tiled to resemble rivers, and each hallway is lined with acoustic paneling color-coded to indicate where walkers are on campus.
Finn Payton, a fifth-grade student, said he didn’t recognize the new campus when he first arrived.
“The whole design makes me feel tiny,” he said.
Fourth grader Suzie Killien, however, said her favorite part of the campus was the new Promethean Boards, white boards that act as touch screen computer monitors, found in classrooms.
“It can do almost everything,” she said. “You can use them as white boards, but they can also be used Mark Edgbert’s fourth and fifth grade choir students performed three rounds of five songs for parents as they toured the building and had questions answered by student council members giving tours.
Superintendent Gil Mendoza, Jeff DeMarre, Rick Hendricks, Mike Pavlik and Sherm Voiles of the district board of directors were present for the dedication ceremony.
The architects, contractors, Citizens for Education Committee, Ed Specs Committee and Administrative Services and Construction managers were all recognized for their part in bringing the campus to fruition.
Mendoza also thanked voters for passing the bond that allowed district construction projects to go forward.
Victor Falls Elementary is located at 11401 188th Ave Ct E in Bonney Lake.
